Ore concentration.



Q PAIENTED NOV. 6, 1906.

m. 835,143. I H. L. sqLmAN.

ORE CONCENTRATION. APPLICATION FILED 00T.20. 1905.

I r 4 1 z y I; v u m f 1. 1 v r.. K J

pm W UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY LIVINGSTONE SULMAN, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

one GONCENTRATION.

, Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 6, 1906.

Application filed October 20, 1905. Serial No. 288,704.

.To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY LIVINGSTONE SULMAN, a subject of the King of England, residing at London, England, have invented certain new and useful Im rovements in In the process described in the specification of theprevious (patent application, Serial No. 262,889, file May 29, 1905, a mineral pul is agitated with a small pro' ortion i of an oi y substance, such as oleic aci or petrol or other oil, amounting to a fraction of one per cent. on the ore until the oil-coated metalliferous matter forms into a froth which i can be separated from the angue by flotation, the pulp being acidi ed. It is also stated that the pulp may be warmed, say, to 5 30 to 40 centigrade to increase the tend-j ency for the oily substance to disseminate through the pulp and the rapidity with which the metalliferous matter becomes coated.

It is now found that if the finely-powdered ore suspended in water is mixed with a small proportion of an oily substance-sa five er cent. or less ofthe ore-agitated and eate to 2 a high temperaturesay, to boiling-pointthat is to say, to a temperature at which bubbles of steam or vapor are generated in the pulpthe formation of a froth containing the oil-coated metalliferous matter is considerably promoted, and a very efficient separation of the metalliferous matter from the ganglue may thus be obtained.

T 'e water in which the oiling is effected may be slightly acidified by adding, say, a fraction of one per cent. of sulfuric acid or other mineral acid or acid salt, or the water may be neutral or alkaline. It is to be understood that the obigct of using acid in the pulp according to t 's invention is not to bring about the generation of gas for the purpose of flotation thereby, and the proportion of acid used is insufiicient to cause chemical action on the metalliferous mineralspresent. The quantity of oil employedis not sufii cient to cause the flotation of the metalliferous matter by the buoyancy of the oil; but the quantity may be sufiicient-say five per oiling of the mineral particles.

cent. or less on the quantity of ore-to coat tlfie p1etalliferous particles with a thin film o 01 The following is an example of the applica tion of this invention to the concentration of ore: Broken Hill or certain copper ores are finely powdered and mixed with water, acidified or not. To this is added a proportion, as

' above described, of an oily substance, such as oleic acid, and the mixture is agitated in a cone mixer or the like in order to effect due The pul may now be removed from the agitation (oi ing) vessel and subjected to heat in suitable apparatus. As the liquor becomes heated, and especially as the boiling-point of the liquor is approached, a froth or scum rises to the surface containing practically thewhole. of the metalliferous matter, while the gangue remains in the pulp. The froth may be removed from the li uid by skimming or in any usual way, or the othy portion may be separated from the remainder of the pulp by causing this to flow through a spitzkasten or the like. The froth after separation and "collection may be allowed to subside, and the oily substance may be removed from the metalliferous matter by treatment with an alkali or a solvent or otherwise.

The heating of the pulp may be effected by means of closed steam-coils, or of free steamjets, or surrounding the agitating vessels with steam-jackets, or by an other suitable means, or the treatment of t e pulp byheat may be made continuous by causing it to flow over heated surfaces in a continuous stream and collecting the suitably-heated product in an apparatus wherein the separation of the froth so produced from the mineral-depleted ore-pulp can be efiected; or the contents of the agitation (oiling) vessel may be heated to the necessary extent, which approaches the boiling temperature, and on cessation of agitation the mineralized froth rises to the surface.

Should any coarser particles of oiled mineral (unremoved as froth) remain in the coarse sands of the separated pulp, these particles may be recovered by passage over a pincentration or aeration apparatus or the It is to be understood that the details of the process may be varied without departing from this invention.

The accom anying drawing is a perpective view of one orm of apparatus suitable for carrying this invention into practice, the arrangement being such that the contents of the agitation vessel may be heated to the necessary extent.

A mixing vessel A (of which there may be any number in series) is provided with a rotatable'stirrer B. Crushed ore is fed from a hopper G into the vesselby a band D. A

pipe E, controlled by a tap E, delivers cir-' cult-water to the vessel, and oleic acid or other oil is introduced throu h the pipe F and tap F. The outer cock from t e vessel A communicates, through a swan-neck pipe H, with the froth-separating apparatus.

. at the bottom of each box-through a tap The boxes are all filled with circuit-water. The pulp from the vessel A is distributed horizontally from the flat trough 0 through the inletK. The heavy sands and coarser particles of mineral sink into the first box J from which they are led to'a shaking-table,

convex buddle, or the like, to be treated as 7 above described. The middlings or medium sands fall into the box J and if they contain any mineral ma treatment by agitation. The upcurrent of water from the taps N N prevents the deposition of any slime in these boxes. The fine sands or gangue slimes settle in the last box J from-Which they are discharged to waste or further treatment.

The slime mineral in the form of froth or scum floats from the liquid and is carried by the stream over the outlet K into a launder 1 and thence to a filter Q, where the metalliferous matter is removed from the circuit- 5 water, which is returned to the vessel A by a pump R. The circuit-water may be brought to the proper temperature approximately to boiling-point by passing it through a heater '8, having a burner S, before admitting the water to the vessel A. w

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by'Letters Patent,is-

1-. The herein-described process of concentrating ores which consists in mixing the powdered ore with water, adding a small proportion of an oily liquid having apreferen-tial trating ores which consists in mixi pointed boxes .7 J2 J8:

:be removed for further;

aflinity for metalliferous matter, agitating the mixture, heatin the mixture app mately to bo1l1ng-po1nt until the oil-coated m neral matter forms into a froth and sepazatmg the froth from the remainder by flota- 2. The herein-described process for concentrating ores which consists in mixin the powdered ore with water, adding a smal proportion of oily 1i uid having a preferential aflinity for metalliferous matter, agitating the mixture, heating the mixture until gaseous bubbles are generated therein so that the oil-coated mineral matter forms into a froth and separating the froth from the remainder by flotation.

3. The herein-described process of concenthe powdered ore with slightly-acidified water, adding a small proportion of oily matter having a preferential affinity for metalliferous matter agitating the mixture, heating the mixture approximately to boiling-point until the oil-coated mineral matter forms into a froth and separating the froth from the remainder by flotation.

4. The herein-described process of concentrating ores which consists in finely powdering the ore, mixing it with slightly-acidified water, adding a small proportion of an oily substance having a preferential aflinity for metalliferous matter in quantity insufiicient to cause the flotation of the metalliferous matter by the buoyancy of the oil, agitating the mixture, heating the mixture to boilingoint until the oil-coated mineral matter orms into a froth, separating the froth from the remainder by flotation and removing the oil coating from the mineral by a solvent.

5. The herein-described process of concentrating ores which consists in finely powdering the ore, mixing it with water containing less than one per cent. of sulfuric acid, adding a proportion of less than ten per cent. of oleic acid, agitating the mixture until the oleic acid has come into sufficient contact with the mineral, heating the mixture up to boiling-point until the metalliferous matter has been raised in a froth to the surface, running the mixture over a current of water so that the froth is floated away by the current while the remaining mineral sinks, separating the 'froth and removing the oleic acid therefrom by a solvent.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

HENRY LIVINGSTONE S'ULMAN.

Witnesses:

R. WILLIAMS, '1. B. Buss.

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